A powerful Philly grant is fueling small businesses — but few know it exists

Technical.ly

2 days ago

This article is a part of Every Voice, Every Vote, a collaborative project managed by the Lenfest Institute for Journalism with lead support from the William Penn Foundation, and additional funding from Lenfest, Comcast NBC Universal, the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, Henry L. Kimelman Family Foundation, Judy and Peter Leone, Arctos Foundation, Wyncote Foundation, 25th Century Foundation, Dolfinger-McMahon Foundation and Philadelphia Health Partnership. This article was created independently of the project's donors.
This piece is also available in Spanish, thanks to translation services by Gabriela Rivera, digital communications manager at Resolve Philly.
When Juan Jimenez first heard about a program that could offer his small business tens of thousands of dollars, he thought it was too good to be true.
Without finding out about it through a friend, Jimenez, who owns Castillo Mattress and Furniture, could've missed out on a $25,000 grant from the City of Philadelphia.
'The biggest thing is funding, for most businesses,' Jimenez said. 'What you need to be able to grow your business or to make more money, it always comes down to money.'
The money comes from the city in partnership with lender Greenline Access Capital, which gave Jimenez a loan for $25,000 with an 8% interest rate (on the low side) and helped him apply for a $25,000 match from the city's Business Lending Network Incentive Grant Program.
While Jimenez and 113 other businesses have landed grants up to $35,000, the program relies on the financial institutions behind it to tell their clients about it, Kersy Azocar, president and CEO of Greenline, told Technical.ly — but there's no requirement for them to do so.
'We see these programs as a complementary financing component to small businesses,' said Azocar, whose firm primarily serves Philly's Latino community, 'that otherwise couldn't get what they needed if they didn't have these grants.'
If lenders neglect to mention the program, however, business owners could miss out on the opportunity.
'Ninety-nine percent of the time, they don't even know this grant exists,' Azocar said. 'They've never heard of it. They think it's not real. They're like, no, I'm not gonna get it. They immediately self-select themselves [out].'
She worries small business owners won't get available funding — and it's unclear how much has been granted to date.
$1.1 million was originally allocated to the program by City Council, and about $2 million has been dedicated to the program to date, according to the Department of Commerce. When the city's Fiscal Year 2026 budget is passed, the expectation is more money will be added to the program.
Tiffany Justice, director of small business resources at the city's Department of Commerce, declined to share how much money is currently available in the program's fund.
How to land funds through Philly's microbusiness grant program
Philly launched the Business Lending Network Incentive Grant in 2022 to expand an already existing program that simplifies the process for business owners applying for loans, according to Justice, of the Commerce Department.
Since its founding in 2017, the Business Lending Network has grown to 30 institutions, including banks of all sizes, community development financial institutions and nonprofits. The later addition of the incentive grant allows businesses to get part of the capital they need as a grant from the city, instead of taking out the full amount in a loan, Justice said.
Businesses have to be approved by the city to get access to the lending network and they must be working with an institution within the network to access the grant program.
To qualify for the grant, businesses and their owners must:
Be located in Philadelphia
Have 51% of the company's ownership identify as part of a historically disadvantaged community
Employ five people or fewer, including owners
Earn less than $350,000 in revenue
Comply with city taxes
The Commerce Department's review board meets weekly to review applications from the lender partners. While the lenders do most of the initial vetting of these businesses, the city dives deeper into their budgets and plans for the funds, per Justice.
'We go over the project in its whole entirety to make sure that it is a sustainable business,' she said.
The original funding for the program was allocated by City Council, she explained, and it continues to be supported by city and federal funding.
But first, lenders need to make their clients aware of the funds
While the city has the final say over who gets approved for the grants, lenders do most of the work to identify eligible businesses and help them apply for the program, according to Justice.
Greenline Access Capital, which is an approved lending partner with the city, explains the program and the criteria to its clients, Azocar said. It helps clients fill out the application, submits the application to the city and actively advocates for the business if any issues pop up.
What you need to be able to grow your business or to make more money, it always comes down to money.
Juan Jiménez, owner of Castillo Mattress and Furniture
This entire process requires a lot of trust between the business owners and the lenders, she said.
Even if owners are open to applying for the grant, they may face language barriers or lack access to a computer or the internet to fill out the application. Greenline Access Capital overcomes that by walking its clients step by step through the process, per Azocar, but lenders aren't required to be that involved with their clients' applications.
The only requirements for lenders are to contact businesses within five days of applying to the Business Lending Network, if they are interested in working with them. They are also required to keep the Department of Commerce up to date throughout the process.
To continue being a part of the network, lenders must attend quarterly meetings to discuss increasing access to capital for small businesses, according to the Department of Commerce.
Room to grow and recover from hardship
Business Lending Network Incentive Grants have gone toward everything from storefront renovations to furthering business owner education and securing stock to keep up with sales.
Martha Santos, owner of interior design and event planning company M Santos Interiors and also a Greenline client, was seeking a $5,000 loan, but was able to get half of it as a grant that she won't have to worry about paying back.
Santos used the money, awarded in May 2024, to take business and event planning classes with the goal of offering better services to her clients, she said.
'I also learned how to basically manage my business,' Santos said. 'The clients see the difference in my knowledge that they can [trust me more].'
The only things Incentive Grants can't be used for are to refinance existing debt or to directly pay salaries.
'It allows them to think big, to really expand their business,' said Azocar, of Greenline. '[To do] things that they wouldn't consider because they didn't have the money.'
For Jimenez from Castillo Mattress and Furniture, who got the grant earlier this year, the money allowed him to start a stockpile of merchandise, buy a digital catalog kiosk and invest in advertising.
'Now that I had a lot of inventory, I was able to advertise greatly on those products that I had in stock,' said Jimenez, who launched his business in 2020. 'I was able to increase sales by a lot, and actually test how much customers actually can I get by advertising.'
The funding also acted as a safety net when unexpected hurdles hit.
In February, Jimenez's store was damaged after the store next door caught fire. But thanks to the grant and loan program, and insurance he bought to qualify for the program, Jimenez was able to move to a new location with a full inventory and get back on his feet.
'I absolutely believe that that grant is going to help me push my business to a lot higher,' Jimenez said, 'than I would have done on my own without that help.'